Reinstatement Option for TVU Students

By: Ketki Buddhisagar, Esq.

In January 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided Tri-Valley University (TVU) in Pleasanton, California for issuing invalid form I-20s to hundreds of international students and without any notice that TVU was closed, rendering these unfortunate students out of status with no fault of theirs.

Till date, there have been no clear cut guidelines as to how these students should proceed. However, lately we have received unconfirmed news that 700 TVU students are in the process of reinstatement. Unfortunately this number has not been confirmed by the US government. Therefore, it is almost impossible for us to make a determination of the truthfulness of the information. However, some of our colleagues are confirming this news and the ‘behavior’ of ICE towards the students seems to indicate that they are willing to help. Thus, one ray of hope for the students of TVU is “reinstatement,” which will help them regain a valid status by remaining in the US. This article discusses the eligibility and procedure for filing a reinstatement application with USCIS.

A student, who has failed to maintain F-1 student status and wishes to transfer to another university or institution while staying in the USA, must regain valid status. One way to regain F-1 student status is to apply to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for reinstatement.

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